A Hand Reaches Through
by LunaClefairy
Summary: Takes place during Chapter 13 of Heart of PureSilver's Of Silence and Blood, but can be read as a standalone. Robin cares for a grievously wounded Takumi and realizes how dear he has become to her.


Robin fought to catch her breath as she looked over the Shepherds' ranks. They were forced to make a hasty retreat after the disastrous Emmeryn rescue attempt, and the Ylissean and Feroxi armies had suffered heavy losses. The Shepherds weren't completely unscathed, either. Everyone was still in shock over what had happened, but none more so than the royal siblings and their faithful ward. Frederick held his head low as he helped Chrom off his horse. The prince's eyes were squeezed shut, his teeth were clenched together, and his fists shook at his sides. Lissa stood nearby, looking like she would shatter if someone so much as looked at her the wrong way.

Robin's mind backpedaled. Lissa. Lon'qu was supposed to be guarding her. A quick scan of their forces showed no sign of him, and in the process she realized that the head of silver hair she had grown accustomed to seeing was missing, too. Her stomach twisted as she scanned their group a second and third time. If they had lost two of their own on top of everything else, then—

"LISSA!"

The young princess snapped out her daze, and both she and Robin turned towards the voice. Lon'qu was sprinting across the sand, somehow unimpeded by the body in his arms. The myrmidon looked and sounded abnormally agitated, even with the desert heat taken into account. Robin's heart stopped when she saw the reason for his distress.

The lifeless body he held was Takumi.

For a terrifying instant, she thought he was dead, but Lon'qu quickly assured that Takumi was still alive. Without immediate medical attention, however, he wouldn't last much longer. The boy was drenched with blood, and while Lon'qu had bound his injury using Takumi's sash and fur wrap, it had already bled through.

Lissa immediately switched into medic mode. She called for Maribelle and their new recruit Libra and ordered a medical tent be set up. Once the healers began their work, the full extent of Takumi's injury became apparent.

A two inch hole sat in the center of his chest and pierced clean through his back. Whatever had caused it miraculously missed his heart, but the wound was so severe that all three healers exhausted their staves in an effort to close it. Even then, Lissa grimly informed Robin and Chrom that Takumi had lost so much blood that he'd be lucky to survive the night.

Olivia broke down sobbing when she heard the news. Lon'qu said nothing, but his stiff posture and clenched fists spoke more than words ever could. Robin could only replay the day's events over and over in her head. The way she had left Takumi in the chaos of battle, confident that he would hold his own.

Now he was clinging to life, and it was because of her carelessness.

There was no way to know if staying with Takumi would have changed the outcome, but at the very least she would have had a chance to protect him from whatever or whoever had attacked him. Already there was plenty of speculation about just what had killed Phila and her pegasus knights. Some even suspected that Takumi was the one who shot them down, especially since Gangrel insinuated that there was a traitor among their ranks.

That couldn't be right, though. While the bolts of light that struck the pegasus knights looked similar to the Fujin Yumi's arrows, they were purple, not green. Furthermore, Takumi's wound looked just like the ones he left in his enemies. Robin couldn't think of a single reason why Takumi would want to kill himself, and with his own divine weapon at that. Her only conclusion was that someone else had attacked him and Phila, but she didn't have a clue who they could have been or how they pulled it off. Only one thing was certain: once she found the culprit, she would make them pay.

That thought was small comfort as she lied awake in her tent that night. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Takumi's bloodied body lying before her. Eventually, she decided that trying to sleep was useless and sat up with a huff. She pulled on her coat and boots and peeked outside. As she expected, no one else was up and about at this late hour.

She crept towards the medical tent, which was still lit. When she opened the flap, she was surprised to see Olivia fast asleep in a chair at Takumi's bedside. Robin smiled wanly. Olivia must have had the same idea as her.

She pulled up another chair and sat opposite to Olivia. Takumi's condition was no better than before. While the blood had been mostly cleaned up, he was still deathly pale and his breathing was weak and ragged. As she watched him, countless images exploded into her head, one after another.

Takumi taking Captain Orton's axe for her.

Takumi scolding her for wanting to rest her legs.

Takumi sleeping peacefully at her side.

Takumi steadfastly agreeing to lead the Shepherds in her stead.

Takumi scowling at her for mistaking him for a woman in the bathing tent.

Takumi's face lighting up as he described "mee-so" soup to her.

Takumi awkwardly but gently embracing her the previous night.

Robin felt something slide down her cheek. When she touched her face, moisture coated her fingertips. Another tear slid down her face, and then another. Before long, she was sobbing uncontrollably.

Despite their rough start, she had so many fond memories of Takumi. He was more than a comrade; she had begun to think of him as a dear friend. But now Takumi was dying because of her mistake, and she was powerless to do anything about it.

She gently took his hand in hers and her heart clenched at how cold it was. She rubbed small circles into the back of his hand with her thumb and whispered apology after apology. She had already let down Chrom and Lissa. She didn't want to lose Takumi, too.

Hours passed. Robin continued to watch Takumi breathe in and out. She squeezed his hand a little tighter with every exhale, afraid it would be his last, only to relax when he breathed in again. All the while, she prayed to Naga and whatever other gods out there to let Takumi live. To let him open his eyes and smile and be his snarky self again.

Against her will her eyelids began to droop. Two nights with next to no sleep were taking their toll. She decided it wouldn't hurt to rest her eyes for a moment.

The next thing she knew, someone was shaking her shoulders and calling her name. She lifted her head and realized with a start that she must have fallen asleep. On top of that, she was still holding Takumi's hand. Blushing in embarrassment, she snatched her hand away and turned towards who had awoken her.

"Lissa? What's wrong?"

"It's Takumi! He…"

An icy hand gripped Robin's heart. Oh gods, how could she have fallen asleep?

"He survived the night," Lissa finished, wiping tears from her eyes. "He made it through the worst of it. He's going to be okay!"

Robin's heart soared at the news. Her whole body felt so much lighter. She couldn't fully relax until Takumi woke up, but just knowing he was going to live was enough for now.

Olivia wept again at the good news. Robin was tempted to join her, but there was no time for more tears. Now that Takumi's condition had stabilized, she could focus on strategizing. She needed to rally Chrom and their troops and organize a counterattack against Gangrel. The Mad King would fall.

Takumi was too frail to move with the rest of camp, but Robin fortunately located an abandoned Plegian fort that would serve to shelter him for now. She assigned Libra, Olivia, and a few spare soldiers to care for him while the bulk of their army marched to face Gangrel. Not having Takumi with them was strange, but it couldn't be helped.

The battle against Gangrel went better than Robin could have hoped, due in part to Lissa successfully unleashing Brynhildr's magic. She later confessed to Robin that Takumi had encouraged her to trust in her divine weapon, and that along with Chrom being in danger gave her the confidence to wield it.

Robin couldn't help but smile. Takumi was really a sweet boy underneath his gruff exterior. She refused to believe that such a sweet person would betray them, even as Frederick and some of the Ylissean soldiers suspected otherwise. Once Takumi woke up, she was confident that he would explain what really happened.

And so while most of the Shepherds returned to Ylisstol to assist with reconstruction, she stayed behind to care for Takumi. With Lissa's help, she learned to change his bandages and apply herbs to ease his pain. In the process, she discovered a peculiar mark on his left shoulder blade. It resembled a four pointed star inscribed in a circle, and it reminded her of Chrom's Brand of the Exalt and Lissa's mark of the Dusk Dragon.

It instantly clicked for her. This was the mark of the Dawn Dragon, and it along with the Fujin Yumi proved that he was part of the Hoshidan royal bloodline. This had to be what captured Chrom's attention that day in the bathing tent. She chuckled softly at the memory as she laid him back down on the bed and brushed his bangs out of his face.

"Please wake up soon," she murmured.

Truthfully, she was starting to miss his snarky attitude and sharp tongue. Sure, he got on her nerves sometimes, but that didn't mean he deserved what he had suffered through. And she understood that he only acted the way he did because he was afraid of being hurt again. The fact that he could still remember being betrayed despite his amnesia spoke volumes.

Robin wanted to show Takumi that it was okay to open up and trust others. She also wished that he wouldn't be so hard on himself. She had secretly watched him practice archery a few times and he never seemed satisfied with his performance. He was so talented, but he couldn't see it.

All of that would have to wait until he woke up, however. In the meantime, she made sure he was comfortable and cared for. She spoke to him often, though she knew he couldn't hear her. These private moments were when she first realized just how beautiful Takumi was, both inside and out.

She had always thought him to be quite attractive, but Takumi's handsomeness differed significantly from Chrom's. Chrom reminded her of the sun: warm, open, and inviting. Takumi, on the other hand, was more like the moon: mysterious and nowhere near as bright, but just as beautiful.

Several days went by and Takumi showed no signs of awakening. Lissa had told Robin that it was normal for there to be a long recovery period after severe blood loss, but that didn't make the wait less frustrating. A nagging fear lurked in the back of her mind: what if he never woke up? It was irrational, but she couldn't completely dispel the thought.

"Sumia lent me another one of her novels. That girl has an endless pile of them," Robin said as she carefully spooned water into Takumi's mouth. "This one's called _Ribald Tales of the Faith War_. It's definitely…um…ribald. I don't think you'd enjoy it very much. Then again, it is loosely based on historical events, and I know how much you love history. You know what, I'll look into the war the novel was based on and see if I can find a book or two on that when we get back to Ylisstol."

She laid Takumi back down and put away the spoon. "These one-sided conversations are so lonely. I can't wait to discuss books again properly with you. It's been hard to have more than a short chat with anyone lately. Everyone's busy with rebuilding, and Chrom suddenly has a whole country to lead. It hasn't been easy, but he's doing an admirable job. Emmeryn would definitely be proud of him." She paused and stood up. "I'm gonna get you some fresh bandages. I won't be gone long, so just sit tight for a bit, okay?"

With that, she left the room and quietly closed the door behind her. What she didn't know was that just moments after she left, the amber eyes she had missed so much finally opened again.

* * *

 **Merry Christmas! I know I've been very quiet for over a year, but I've been busy with a lot of things, most notably work. I have a full time job now and not a lot of time to do much else. I also have decided not to upload works in progress anymore. I have been slowly and quietly working on something new for a long time now, but it's nowhere near ready to be uploaded.**

 **As for this piece, I am a big fan of Heart of PureSilver's** ** _Of Silence and Blood_ and I have assisted her in writing it. I showed her this piece and she loved it and said it was okay for me to post it. I hope fans of the story will like this, too!**


End file.
